$100m Adani solar farm can power 23,000 homes

Controversial Indian miner Adani says while others are “virtue-signalling” or paying “lip service” to climate change, it’s putting its money where its mouth is — to the tune of $100 million.

ADANI boss Lucas Dow says opening the company’s first Australian solar farm today proves it can deliver major projects when given a “clear run to get on with the job”.

Mr Dow said the Rugby Run solar farm in central Queensland — which cost over $100 million and will produce enough electricity to power 23,000 homes — showed Adani “understood climate change”.

Extinction Rebellion protesters fined, placed on good behaviour bonds after week of disruption

Adani Abbot Point Port $100 million railway line contract signed with Martinus Rail

Adani CEO Lucas Dow and the company’s renewables manager Ian Sedgman inspect the 247,000-panel Rugby Run Solar Farm during construction.

It comes after Adani’s nearby Carmichael coalmine became a political football during the approval process, delaying the project and scaring some banks and contractors from working with the company.

“We’re very excited about being able to demonstrate that when we’re given a clear run and the opportunity to get on and build and deliver projects, that’s exactly what we do,” Mr Dow told The Courier-Mail.

And he said the solar farm near Moranbah was “not some sort of gimmick” as most people had no idea the company produced enough renewable energy each year with its Indian assets to power South Australia.

An aerial view of Adani’s Rugby Run Solar Farm near Moranbah, which will generate enough renewable energy to power 23,000 homes.

“People are often surprised when we say we’re in the renewables business but the reality is that we recognise the world needs a reliable and affordable energy mix of both coal and renewables in order to meet current and future global energy demand,” he said.

“That’s why we’re putting our money where our mouth is, and we walk the walk around this rather than just virtue-signalling or lip service.”

And after Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk pointedly told Adani she would be watching to ensure the Carmichael project delivered local jobs, Mr Dow said its record at Rugby Run,

where 90 per cent of contract service providers were from Queensland, proved it would deliver.

“We’re obviously very excited about this as a proof point and giving people an insight into how we’re going to get on and deliver Carmichael,” he said.

“We’ve got the internal resources and the economic and commercial capability of delivering these large scale projects.”